Cognitive Development in Preschoolers

Cognitive development is the development of the brain that we all use. The functions that are included are thinking, learning, awareness, judgment and processing information. Learning these functions is key to a preschooler. In children between the ages of 2 to 7, they are in the pre operational stage of their memory. They use symbols to remember objects and understand the beginning of a conversation. As this function increases, these children will become better students and achieve academic success.

Preschoolers use mental imagery and symbolic thinking to communicate what they are feeling. This will include emotion, motivation, and intention along with their memory. As they start to grasp these images they will increase the way they communicate with other children and increase on academic levels. Cognitive development will strengthen the brains neural bridges and strengthen the child’s intellect. As this happens, the child will be able to relay what they are thinking or wanting from images to words. As a parent or a teacher, you can help increase these skills by allowing the children to play and use their imagination.

As a child plays and uses their imagination, they are generating the images and ideas they have into their life. It helps the child consider different options on how to solve a problem, use their creative skills and interact with other children and adults. As the child uses these skills, they are improving their short term memory improve and also improve their long term memory. The more new ideas a child has and uses, the more they will increase their memory. The better a memory a child has, the more they will be able to succeed in school and in their career as an adult. As the parent or the teacher, you can help increase the cognitive learning your child or student receives by setting up activities that the child or student will need to perform. Such activities can be:

Puzzles and blocks. These two items will help a child use the proper side of their brain and make them think. A puzzle is a great way to help a child learn how to use their memory. As they put the puzzle together, they will need to remember the image as the place the pieces together. Blocks will allow the child to use their imagination while building a product of their own.

Role playing is a way for a child to use their imagination. Many children will play house, work at a grocery store or school. As the child puts themselves in these role playing situations, they will learn how to communicate with other students, learn how to count, colors, shapes and what objects are.

Singing. With simple songs like the “ABC’s” will help the child not only remember their alphabet, but will help their memory level increase. Use songs that include numbers, letters and actions to help the child remember what they are singing about. As they recognize the words with an object, they are increasing their cognitive development.

Children are curious about the world and the objects in the world. Help them take the proper steps by enrolling them into a preschool that will help them and allow them to view the world and the objects that are in it. The more exposure they have, the better they will communicate and achieve success with their academic career. Memory is a beneficial element that children know how to use. Help them learn how to operate their memory by allowing them to achieve tasks and placing an item in their hand that is challenging to their brain.